


Bang bang (my baby shot me down)

by Everydayishark



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Frenemies, M/M, MX assembly shows up, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Content, Non-Chronological, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot Twists, kihyuk insult each other constantly, mild violence, no archive warnings YET, non-healthy relationship, the bestest frenemies, tun tun tunnnn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 05:35:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17359997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everydayishark/pseuds/Everydayishark
Summary: Kihyun strips off his leather gloves before leaning back in his seat.“It's always so easy. “ He complains.Minhyuk scoffs. “That's because they don't expect a small twat and a tall gay to be hitmen.”--Aka best frenemies Kihyuk are hitmen, things are not as easy as they seem, and life may, perhaps, be a bitch.





	1. A bullet with your name on it

“Do you think you could forgive me?” Kihyun asks. It seems like a weird thing to ask, considering their situation. After all, the man he is asking is tied up to a chair with a gun aimed at his head. There doesn't seem to be any room for forgiveness, much less a chance for redemption.  

 

The man spits on the floor. “Over my dead body.” He says through gritted teeth. 

 

“That can certainly be arranged.” Kihyun deadpans. He presses the gun to the temple of his head. “Any last words?” 

 

“Fuck you.” 

 

“No thanks. You should ask my roommate.”

\--

The gun shot reverberates through the empty halls of the building. Outside his partner waits, smoking a cigarette as he keeps watch and waits for Kihyun to finish.

 

“Is he dead?” He asks.

 

“I wouldn't be here if he wasn't.” Kihyun answers curtly.

 

The man named Minhyuk flicks his cigarette away, before stepping behind the wheel. They've had many fights about who drives the car but Minhyuk always wins. 

 

“You're not tall enough to reach the pedals.” He once said. 

 

“Go suck a dick.” Kihyun had retaliated. 

 

“I just did.” And that ended their discussion. You don't win a fight against a gay man by threatening him to be gay.

\-- 

Kihyun strips off his leather gloves before leaning back in his seat. 

 

“It's always so easy. “ He complains. 

 

Minhyuk scoffs. “That's because they don't expect a small twat and a tall gay to be hitmen.”

 

“You're not that tall.” Kihyun bristles.

 

“THAT'S what you took offense to?” 

 

“I'm immune to your insults.”

 

“Clearly.”

\-- 

Back in their apartment, Kihyun calls in their confirmed kill. It isn't pretty work, but it sure pays a pretty penny. He sits down at the kitchen counter and takes apart his gun. Every day he makes sure it's spotless and clean. It's one of the things that drives Minhyuk insane. 

 

It's one thing to live together with a murderer, it's a whole other thing to live together with a hypochondriac murderer.

 

Perhaps it's the perfect cover. No one suspects someone so squeaky clean to spill blood on a regular basis.

 

He wears his mousy brown hair neatly split in the middle. He wears sweater vests and cardigans, above a perfectly sensible pair of jeans. He wears glasses and laughs at dumb culinary jokes. It's a cover, for the most part, and it's a damn good one. He plays the part of a perfectly bland goody two shoes, and he does so to absolute perfection. 

 

The cleaning, unfortunately, is not an act. 

\-- 

They had been friends since high school. Well... friends might be a bit of a stretch. Frenemies was a better word. Still, they stuck together, even ending up at the same college and renting an apartment together. (Though they won’t admit to being friends themselves, occasionally they do slip up and call each other the f-word.)

 

So how did these two high school frenemies become hitmen? It's not exactly the kind of job you find in the newspaper. Not that you really find any jobs in the newspaper nowadays anyway. 

 

Kihyun racks up quite the debt in college, what with tuition fees and luxury brand cooking utensils and an unfortunate habit of going out to dinner to places he can’t afford. He start to look for ways to pay off his debt quickly. In his search he accidentally stumbles onto the dark Web where he finds an organisation that helps people... get rid of their problems. 

 

A needy ex, a cruel landlord, or simply someone who looked at someone the wrong way. This organisation helps them... disappear, questionable legality aside.

 

At first, he clicks it away, laughing to himself. Kihyun is a good man. He will find another way. But as the months pass, and his part-time job as a restaurant waiter is barely enough to pay the rent, let alone pay off any of the interest on his ever-growing loans, he begins to doubt. He begins to doubt if he will ever be able to pay off his debts. At this rate it will take years and a small miracle before he can even make it dent in it. 

 

All he wants is to be free. 

\--

“Move your ass. “ Kihyun says, swatting Minhyuk off their expensive couch. “Get changed first, you're dirty.” 

 

“Oh honey, you haven't even  _ began _ to see dirty.” Minhyuk says, making it a point to rub his ass against Kihyun as he walks by.

 

“Fuck off.”

 

“With pleasure.” 

\--

Minhyuk returns from his bedroom in a sparkly black v-neck top cut so low you can almost see his navel and a pair of very tight leather pants. 

 

“Happy now, mum?” He asks sarcastically. Whenever he's dressed like this, Kihyun knows he's on his way to his lover. Or, as Minhyuk calls him himself, his boy toy. (Because God forbid he would admit to having feelings for anyone.)

 

“Just come back alive.” Kihyun sighs. Minhyuk is impossible, but in a sense he's all he has. Minhyuk blows him a kiss as he pulls the door closed behind him. 

\-- 

Now, finding  _ back _ the dark Web was a lot harder than he had anticipated. It's not exactly something you can Google search, after all. It takes him weeks to even find a trace. Still, desperation can be a fine motivator, and Kihyun clings onto this small ray of hope with all he has. 

 

Now, if finding the dark Web was like breaking into a high security vault while being on fire while also simultaneously juggling knives, finding and contacting the organisation was on a  _ whole _ other level of difficulty on its own. 

 

Still, Kihyun is nothing if not annoyingly persistent. (Just ask his roommate.) 

 

Where there is a will there is a way, as they say. Months later, Kihyun makes his first phone call to the organisation. A few days later a package arrives in his mailbox. In it, he finds an untraceable gun, a burner phone and a folder with information on his first target. 

 

Which, inevitably, ends up in the hands of his nosey roommate. 

 

“YOU'RE going to kill someone?” Minhyuk laughs. “You can't even kill a spider, how are you going to kill an actual human being?” 

\-- 

Minhyuk stands in front of the door of the apartment. He knows he is stalling, rolling an unlit cigarette between his fingers. He knows he should end this. He knows he hurts him, every time he leaves, every time he disappears for weeks with no notice. 

 

He knows he should end it. But part of him just can't let go. He hates the way he looks at him, with love and understanding. Because he wants to understand,  _ so _ badly. But Minhyuk can't let him in. It's too much. It's too dangerous. 

 

He knocks on the door. Hyunwoo answers. Somehow he never looks surprised. Like he has always known that Minhyuk would show up weeks later, unannounced.

 

“Come on in.” 


	2. Between a rock and a hard place

“I want in.”

Of all the things Kihyun expects Minhyuk to say, this isn't one of them. “You ..what?”

 

“You heard me. I want in on this.”

 

“What? No!”

 

“Do you even know how to shoot a gun?” Minhyuk asks, as he snatches the unloaded gun from his hands and pointing it at him.

 

“N-no… “ Kihyun stammers.

 

“So you need me.”

 

“You know how to shoot a gun?!”

 

Minhyuk shrugs. “My dad thought it might make me less gay.”

 

Kihyun assesses Minhyuk's current outfit, which consists of a cut off pair of jeans shorts and a pink crop top. “That clearly worked out great.”

 

“Clearly.” Minhyuk grins.

\--

Their clothes are off before the door is even fully closed. They don't tend to do a lot of talking, and Minhyuk likes it that way. The things Hyunwoo knows about him are limited, and mostly false.

 

Hyunwoo thinks he is an (aspiring) fashion designer. It isn't a complete lie, he does make some of his own clothes, and it IS what he had studied for.

 

He knows he has an annoying roommate, who is a food critic, and an overall pain in the ass. He has never mentioned him by name, it never felt relevant. Kihyun is generally only mentioned as _The Roommate._

 

He knows he is gone a lot, though he doesn't know WHY.

 

Hyunwoo on the other hand, is an open book. He is a high school PE teacher who has always secretly dreamed of becoming a professional dancer. He loves to swim, he loves to cook, he likes long hikes and going camping and sleeping under the stars.

 

He is romantic, sweet and understanding. He is honest and open, with the body of a god and a heart of gold. He's too good for Minhyuk, that's for damn sure.

 

He is also _very_ good in bed, which is what drew Minhyuk to him in the first place. But besides that, there is something about him that makes Minhyuk keep wanting to come back. No matter the risk. No matter the heartache of leaving him over and over again.  

 

He knows why Hyunwoo doesn't leave him. He knows he hopes he is enough to make him stay. And sometimes, Minhyuk really wishes he was.

\--

The first thing Minhyuk does is teach Kihyun how to shoot. They spend every day of the next few weeks at the local gun range, until Kihyun at least manages to hit the target.

 

“Man, you suck at this.” Minhyuk groans. “Why don't you just become a prostitute or something?”

 

“And what would be in it for you then?” Kihyun sneers.

 

“Nothing, but it would be god damn amusing. Plus it might make me want to kill myself less.”

 

Kihyun lowers the gun away from the target and points it at Minhyuk. “I could help you with that.”

 

Minhyuk laughs. “I highly doubt it. Try hitting the target first, cowboy.”

 

They take self defense classes and do extensive research on how to kill without leaving a mess. There doesn't seem to be a time limit on their first mission, so they take their time to prepare. (Kihyun has finally given in to Minhyuk joining him, after weeks of endless badgering.)

\--

Silence falls as they lay in bed, with only the smell of sex and cigarettes between them. Hyunwoo never complains about him smoking in his apartment, even though he clearly doesn't like it.

 

He knows Minhyuk leaves once that cigarette is done. He always does.

 

“Stay?” He asks somewhat hopeful, even though he knows the answer.

 

“I'm sorry, I can't.” It's a lie. They both know it.

 

Minhyuk collects his things. He lingers at the door, looking back with a pang of regret. His tone softens. “Maybe next time.”

\--

Kihyun is still awake when Minhyuk returns to the apartment. He sits at the kitchen counter, nursing a glass of vodka. He has already cleaned the entire apartment twice that evening. Without saying a word, Minhyuk takes a glass and sits down opposite of him. Kihyun pours him a drink.

 

They both have different ways of coping with what they do. Kihyun cleans. Minhyuk fucks. They both drink to forget.

\--

On the day of their first mission tensions are high in the apartment. It's as if only now do they realise what they're about to do.

 

Kihyun comes out of his bedroom dressed in a black three-piece suit.

 

“Are you joining the Italian Mafia?” Minhyuk scoffs and snaps, “We're not in The Godfather, Kihyun. This is **_not_ ** a fucking movie. This is real life.”

 

“ _Fuck_. Don't you think I know that?!” Kihyun buries his head in his hands. “What are we gonna do?” He whispers.

 

A loaded silence falls. “We can't go back now…” Minhyuk says softly.

 

“I know..”

 

“So we might as well go forward.”

\--

It's not like they haven't thought about quitting. Their debts are paid, and they saved up enough money to live comfortably for a long time.

 

Maybe it's because deep down, even though they know it's wrong, something just feels _so_ right. Besides, even if they wanted to quit, they know too much. They're not under any illusion that the organisation is just going to let them go and live a normal, happy life. They know too much, they've seen too much, they've done too much.

 

There's too much blood on their hands.

 

No, there's no going back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 ruined my spacing so excuse the 
> 
> WIDE
> 
> GAPS
> 
> gdi


	3. Out of the frying pan into the goddamn hellfire

Nervously, they drive up to house of their first target. Kihyun endlessly checks if the safety is on the gun and if the silencer is attached correctly, until Minhyuk can’t take it anymore and threatens to throw him out of the car. They park at a safe distance, close enough to warrant a quick escape but far enough not to be _instantly_ linked to the scene of the crime.

 

They had read so much about the man they were about to kill, he had transformed into some sort of behemoth sized monster in their heads. In reality, however, the man is anything but big and scary.

 

In the house they find a frail, sickly man in his late sixties. It doesn’t seem right that this man is about to die dressed in pajamas and a bathrobe but that is the reality of what they’re about to do.

 

Kihyun fidgets with his ski-mask. It’s hot and uncomfortable, and it limits his sight to the narrow eye holes cut from the fabric. He exchanges a look with Minhyuk, who is looking more or less the same.

 

Terrified. Hesitant. Yet also strangely resolute.

 

It doesn’t seem right to kill this man. Heck, it probably isn’t. Yet it is what they _must_ do.

\--

The next morning, a new folder appears on their doorstep like magic. Kihyun has never asked exactly how the organisation knows where they live, because he never told them, but it seems like one of those things they are better off not knowing. (Like who cleans up the bodies after they kill a target, or where they’re even finding all these wealthy people with a kill-list.)

 

Kihyun likes to think that at least _most_ of the people they’ve killed deserved it, somehow. They must have done something truly unforgivable for someone else to want them dead. Still, to enact revenge in someone else’s name is quite the heavy burden for any soul to bear, so Kihyun asks for forgiveness from each of his targets.

 

Most people curse him out, or yell or scream or cry or try (and fail) to escape. Yet some accept their fate. Some close their eyes and embrace their deaths. Some tell him it’s okay.

 

And that’s all he wants. That’s all he _needs_.

 

Kihyun just wants to know he is doing the right thing. Kihyun just wants to know he can still be forgiven.

 

(Besides, if it wasn’t right, then why would it feel so _good_?)

\--

The man doesn’t struggle when Minhyuk ties him to the chair. Minhyuk doesn’t know if he _could_ even if he wanted to.

 

Kihyun holds the gun trained on the man. Suddenly, the gun seems to weigh a ton. His hands are clammy and shake as he takes aim, but they shake so hard he can’t focus. Minhyuk walks up to him and steadies his hands.

 

“ _You got this.”_ He whispers. _“Just like we practiced.”_

 

Except it is nothing like they had practiced, not in the slightest. Because before them is a man, a living, breathing man made of flesh and bone, not a cardboard target at a gun range.

 

His vision begins to swim as tears soak the ski-mask. Before Minhyuk starts to cry too, he takes the gun from Kihyun.

 

“ _I’m so sorry_.” He says, to the man, to Kihyun, to himself, to God, and to no one in particular. His voice quivers, but his shot is true.

 

The man’s head drops as the bullet hits with a dull thud.

\--

Much has changed since their first kill. They’ve learned to put more emotional distance between themselves and their targets. It’s easier to think of them like that. _Targets_.

 

Not humans, with their own lives and their own stories. Not humans, with friends and family. Not humans, capable of love and life and everything in between.

 

No. Targets.

 

Kihyun’s aim has improved, though he is still nowhere near Minhyuk’s perfect accuracy. (Something Minhyuk reminds him of _quite_ frequently.)

 

The restrictive ski-masks are gone, replaced by wigs, prosthetics and two sets of clothes. Basically, they have mastered the advanced arts of playing dress up. They’ve learned to avoid cameras, and to never _ever_ go in somewhere unprepared.

 

That’s not to say they didn’t fuck up. Not all targets went gently into that good night. Some fought, some ran and some _nearly_ got them caught. But they survived, they learned, and they got better.

 

No, not just better.

 

 _Damn_ good.

 

And they even start to enjoy the thrill of the chase. The rush of adrenaline coursing through their bodies the moment they take someone’s life. Plus the fact that they’re getting away with it.

\--

Minhyuk doesn’t know how they got home that night. Minhyuk doesn’t know how they left the house, drove the car, and somehow managed to get home in one piece. It seemed like nothing short of a miracle. He doesn’t remember going inside. He doesn’t remember peeling off his clothes.

 

Minhyuk showers once, twice, three times, but the smell of blood won’t get off of him. It’s _on_ him, _in_ him, _in his head in his fingers in his mind in his EVERYWHERE_. On and on again he sees the look on the man’s face before he shoots him.

 

( _Sad. Defeated. Lost._ )

 

On and on again he sees the bullet enter the man’s forehead.

 

He sinks to the floor, the sound of the shower drowning out his long, heaving sobs. When he opens his eyes after a long time, the walls seem to be coming at him. He scrambles to get up.

 

He has to get out.

 

He has to _go._

 

Minhyuk runs out of the bathroom, leaving a wet, frantic trail through the apartment before disappearing into his bedroom. He re-emerges fully dressed in black. He exits the apartment without saying a word, leaving a disheveled Kihyun behind at the kitchen counter.

 

It’s time to drown his sorrows. _(It’s time to mourn the death of his innocence.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I ever stop making Dylan Thomas references in my writing  
> ha ha  
> nope


	4. Forgive, forget, regret

In the next few weeks, they track their next target’s whereabouts. Luckily, people are creatures of habit, and this woman is no different. She’s in her early forties, working a dead-end job in a cubicle the size of a broom closet. She consistently drinks too much wine at night and falls asleep on her couch.

 

“Too easy.” Kihyun remarks as he stashes the woman’s folder back in the glove department of the car. There’s no information on her aside from a few pictures and her current address. From what they observe, there isn’t that much to her.

Just a tired woman living a tired life.

Well, not for much longer of course.

\--

Minhyuk enters the local gay bar. He could’ve gone to a regular bar, if all he wanted was to get drunk, but he wants more.  _ Craves  _ more. Distraction. Something…. No, someone quick and easy to make him forget. To make him happy, if only just for a while.

 

But first: booze. Minhyuk sits down at the bar counter, ordering every weird-sounding shooter and cocktail they have to offer. A guy sits down next to him, but he doesn’t even notice.

 

Six Cock Sucking Cowboys* and several other questionable sounding drinks he can’t remember later, he slumps over the counter, completely and utterly wasted, and still completely and utterly miserable. 

 

He raises his hand to catch the bartender's attention. “One more --cockingsuck…  _ what _ ? Cock Sucking Cowboy. Yeah, thanks.”

 

“You might want to ease up on those Cowboys,” a voice says next to him.

 

“Oh yeah?” Minhyuk says, turning to face the man who  _ dares  _ disturb his self imposed wallowing.

 

Next to him sits a man,just  casually being offensively delicious, broad-shouldered, tanned and toned with dark hair and a leather jacket and a voice dripping with honey.

 

Minhyuk doesn’t skip a beat, and a mischievous grin curls upon his lips.“How about I suck yours instead, then?” 

 

It’s so brazenly blunt, he really doesn’t expect the man to say yes. ( _ But there is a desperate kind of loneliness in the man’s eyes, one he doesn’t pick up on, not now.) _

_ \-- _

Minhyuk looks in the mirror. The short black wig and the prosthetic nose (slightly crooked) warp his features. He looks like a strange, bad replica of himself. He has been so many versions of himself, sometimes it’s hard to differentiate between the things that belong to  _ persona  _ Minhyuk and  _ real  _ Minhyuk.

 

He holsters the gun at his hip, making sure the jacket covers it completely. Longingly, he eyes the sniper rifle hidden in a secret compartment underneath his bed. 

 

Maybe next time. Bringing a sniper rifle into a busy residential area might not be exactly….  _ subtle. _

 

Minhyuk steps into the living room where Kihyun, or at least this version of Kihyun, sits waiting on the couch, legs neatly crossed.

 

“Are you  _ finally  _ ready to go?” He asks, looking over the rim of his fake glasses. Kihyun has this way of looking absolutely condescending without actually doing anything. Minhyuk throws him an annoyed glare before giving a curt nod.

 

Sometimes Minhyuk thinks it’s a miracle that they’ve been friends for this long. Plus that he hasn’t punched him in his smug little face yet after all these years.

\--

Minhyuk pushes the man into the bathroom. He hasn’t even told him his name-- but it doesn’t seem all that relevant now. After all, they haven’t bothered with any other formalities (introduction, pleasantries, some casual conversation maybe?) and skipped straight to the getting down and dirty.

 

He didn’t usually do this. Then again, he didn’t usually kill people, so it’s safe to say the rules of the universe are out of whack today anyway.

 

His mouth is on his, feverishly needy, tongues sloppily battling for dominance. They stumble into the bathroom stall, impatient hands tugging the man’s pants down. The man’s dick springs free and Minhyuk is quite happy to have relinquished the Cowboys. 

 

_ Yeehaw _ , Minhyuk thinks to himself, going down on the guy happy as a kid in a candy store. (Mmm sir what a nice lollipop you’ve got there.)

 

Lee Minhyuk has many talents, giving good head  _ even  _ when shit-faced drunk being one of them, and it doesn’t take long for the guy to lose his composure, hands struggling to find grip on something, anything. Fingers clutch in his hair, the guy’s hips stuttering as he cums in Minhyuk’s mouth.

 

He comes up and swallows theatrically.

 

_ “Let’s fuck.” _ The guy says breathlessly.

\--

They walk the last few streets from the car to the woman’s apartment in silence. The streets are mostly empty, it’s a quiet night. Their target lies tuckered out on the couch after her fourth glass of wine. Breaking into the apartment building is easy-- they swiped the front door key off some young guy in the subway a few days prior. The building is old, so there are no security cameras. Kihyun picks the woman’s lock in a matter of seconds. Smoothly, they slide inside.

 

The woman’s apartment is completely void of any personality. It could’ve been  _ literally _ anyone’s. Well, even if she hadn’t lived in it, at least she gets to die there.

\--

Minhyuk agrees, but when he starts to slide his hands underneath his shirt, the guy stops him.

 

“Wait… not here. Let’s go to my place.”

 

Going home with a complete stranger seems like a surefire way to get himself killed. But you know how the saying goes,  _ save a cowboy, ride a stranger?  _ (...Sounds about right.)

 

It already has been a night without  _ any  _ inhibition, why start now? (Plus, if he gets killed after sex at least he would die happy.)

 

The guy lives nearby, though he doesn’t exactly remember where they’re going, but he knows that somewhere between sloppy kiss #1 and sloppy kiss #5 the guy pulls out a key and they enter an apartment. It’s small, and it’s messy, but it has a bed, and that’s all that matters. (Although at this point  _ any  _ surface would suffice.)

\--

Kihyun stays back watching the door as Minhyuk steps into the living room. He takes a deep breath, a smile growing on his face. The world is vibrant. He feels alive. In one swift movement he sits on top of the woman, pinning her to the couch, while using one gloved hand to cover her mouth. Her eyes shoot open in blind panic. He shushes her.

 

She struggles, but Minhyuk is deceivingly strong for his lanky frame.

 

“What could you have possibly done to piss someone off this badly…” Minhyuk muses. The woman shakes and cries, blubbering an apology, a reason, something. He takes the gun from the holster with his other hand. He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter.” He doesn’t wait for an answer and pulls the trigger. Deep red blossoms on the cream colored couch. 

 

One minute. One minute is all it takes.

\--

The guy undresses Minhyuk.

\--

Like clockwork, Minhyuk shows up at Hyunwoo’s door.

\--

The guy pushes Minhyuk onto the mattress.

\--

Minhyuk pushes Hyunwoo onto the mattress.

\--

They fuck. That’s all there is to it. Sloppy, hard, messy, hot sex. 

\--

And when they’re done, Minhyuk leaves.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Fun fact a cocksucking cowboy is a real drink, it's one part butterscotch schnapps with two parts Baileys and it tastes kinda chocolate-y it's pretty good
> 
> Helloooo I got momentarily distracted from writing but I'm back on track  
> Pffff getting back into writing is hard fml  
> (initially I wanted it to be more explicit,, both the killing and the sex buT this is how it is now)  
> anyyway things are about to get i n t e r e s t i n g


	5. Dig a little deeper

Hyunwoo turns off the audio recorder underneath the bed. Nothing incriminating can be heard (except for incriminatingly good sex). Not that he expects him to slip up. Not like this. No, he's too good.

 

Minhyuk is probably back in his apartment by now. He wonders if they're preparing for their next hit already. (Or would he think of him? No, he didn't seem like the type to pine). He files the recording with the rest of Minhyuk’s files on his laptop. Pictures. A timeline. Finger prints.

 

But no hard evidence. No. He needs more. (He needs there to be more. Even if he would like nothing more than for there to be nothing at all.)

 

Absentmindedly, he flips through the pictures. Minhyuk is in disguises in most of them, but there’s still something about him that’s so distinctively…. Minhyuk. With a sigh he closes the laptop, falling back on the bed. The mattress still smells faintly of him, albeit masked by the smell of sex and smoke and his own sweat.

 

He wishes Minhyuk would trust him more. He’s made it _so_ easy for him. After all, the Son Hyunwoo Minhyuk knows is honest and trustworthy and blindly in love.

 

(Alright, that last part might be mostly true for the real him, as well.)

\--

Kihyun is working on his blog when Minhyuk returns.

 

“'Sup.” He says as a matter of greeting, without looking up from his screen. Minhyuk ignores him, making a beeline for his room after grabbing a six-pack of beer from the fridge. Kihyun isn't particularly interested in whatever temper tantrum Minhyuk is throwing this time-- if he wants to talk he knows where to find him. If not, he can wallow in beer and self pity for all he cares.

 

He returns his attention to the screen, where he has just written a _brilliantly_ scathing review about the restaurant he had visited earlier. (The restaurant wasn't all that bad, if you enjoy mediocrity. Kihyun however, does not.)

 

The best thing about (pretending to be) a professional food critic is that he still gets to maintain the habit of eating out at ridiculously expensive restaurants, except now he gets to bash their food online and somehow be respected for it.

 

Fifteen minutes after he puts the review online, Jooheon, who’s been his best friend since college, texts him.

 

“ _Do you always have to be so mean?_ ”

Kihyun smiles, and replies “ _Of course, how else would I sleep at night?_ ”

 

He puts his phone down. Jooheon doesn’t know about his _real_ job. No one (except for Minhyuk of course, but he _hardly_ counts) does. All they see is this perfectly ordinary guy, with a slightly unordinary job, doing perfectly ordinary things. His instagram is filled with pictures of food, selfies with a variety of flattering filters and random dogs he meets on the street. He drinks wine, he meets with friends, he sings karaoke like a _pro_. He posts funny (Minhyuk would say otherwise, but he knows they are) culinary memes on facebook. He sends dumb snapchats to friends.

 

An ordinary guy.

 

He wonders what Jooheon would think of him if he knew who he really was. What he really is.

 

_A killer._

\--

Hyunwoo’s first meeting with Minhyuk is purely incidental.

Hyunwoo meets Minhyuk on one of the weirdest days in his life.

 

At first he gets promoted. It hasn’t been that long since he has graduated from the police academy, and he hasn’t done much besides writing parking tickets and doing a whole bunch of paperwork back at the precinct, but Hyunwoo gets selected to be part of an international task force investigating a criminal network nefariously called _The Organisation_. Hyunwoo is ecstatic and extremely humbled to be able to work on a project of such magnitude and significance.

 

He gets home, all excited to be able to tell the news to his boyfriend, to find all his stuff packed up. Hyungwon sits in the middle of the couch with a blank face.

 

“It’s over,” He says, completely emotionless, as if they hadn’t been dating for four years. “All you care about is work.” Hyunwoo stands in the doorframe, rigid, unable to move or say anything. Hyungwon’s perfect mask cracks. Anger contorts his face. _“_ **_SAY SOMETHING_ ** _!”_

 

But Hyunwoo can’t. He can’t say anything. He can’t do anything. He merely flinches when Hyungwon starts throwing things. Pillows. Books. Clothes. Anything he can find.

 

The last thing he throws down is his key. Then he leaves.

 

Only when he’s gone Hyunwoo breaks down, sobbing on his hands and knees. He doesn’t know how long he sits there, but when he gets up it’s dark outside and he’s in _desperate_ need of a drink.

\--

Kihyun closes his laptop. It’s too late to do something productive, but too early to go to sleep. So instead, he knocks on Minhyuk’s door.

 

“Get up you loser, we’re going out.” He doesn’t hear any sniffling or frantic scrambling, so at least he’s not crying or jerking off. Kihyun throws his door open. He finds Minhyuk sitting on his bed, drinking beer and watching TV without the sound on. _God damn weirdo._.Minhyuk leers at him angrily, and he looks like he’s about to throw an empty beer bottle, but gets up anyway. “Fine, but at least ask Jooheon to come too. I’m not hanging out with you alone, I’m not that desperate.”

 

An hour later Kihyun and (a slightly reluctant) Minhyuk meet up with Jooheon, Changkyun and Hoseok at the bar. They all became friends in college, and stayed friends even as their lives went off in completely different directions.

 

Two killers, a radio DJ, a bartender (though he prefers to be called a _mixologist)_ and a veterinarian assistant sit in a bar-- it sounds like the start of a crude joke. Of course, the others don’t know about their real occupations, to them (and the rest of the world) they are an aspiring fashion designer and a food critic.

 

“Why didn’t you bring your boyfriend, Minhyuk?” Changkyun grins. Ever since Minhyuk made the mistake of telling his friends about his fling, they had been bothering him about Hyunwoo ever since. _Especially_ Changkyun.

 

“Fuck off. At least I get laid unlike you, you sad sack of shit.”

 

“Oof. Right in the heart. I’m waiting for the right person y’know.”

 

“No one’s right for you. You’re gonna die a virgin.”

 

“And you’re gonna die a man slut, sooo…”

 

While the two of them are bickering, the rest of the group finds a seat and orders their drinks.

 

“So…. how long do you think they’re gonna stand there for before they notice we’re gone?” Jooheon asks, sipping his beer.

 

“Give ‘em a few more minutes.” Hoseok shrugs. Minhyuk and Changkyun are close, but they always butt heads. Meanwhile, Hoseok shows everyone pictures of all the cute animals he’s helped at the clinic.

 

Five minutes later, Minhyuk sits down at their table.

 

“Where’s Changkyun?” Jooheon asks.

 

“I killed him.” Minhyuk deadpans. Kihyun shoots him a look that is both amused and annoyed. “Nah, he’s just taking a piss.”

\--

Hyunwoo sits down at the bar and orders a whiskey. He doesn’t usually like strong liquor, but ordering a beer doesn’t seem…. enough for the occasion. He needs a drink that encompasses the “I just got promoted and dumped” type of feeling. He isn’t sure if it’s whiskey. (Then again, he isn’t sure about anything right now)

 

Two glasses of whiskey later, he’s _quite_ sure it isn’t whiskey he wanted.

 

The guy sitting next to him is well on his way to alcohol poisoning, ordering shooter after shooter like there’s no tomorrow (and at the rate he’s going, that might be likely). He seems particularly fond of a disgusting milky-looking concoction called a _Cocksucking Cowboy._

 

“You might wanna ease up on those cowboys…” Hyunwoo mutters after his third glass of whiskey.

 

The guy whirls around on his chair. (He’s cute, fuck.) Blond bangs fall into deep brown eyes. “Oh yeah?” The guy smirks. “How about I suck yours instead, then?”

 

The guy is drunk, and it’s probably wrong, but this whole day has been wrong. And right. And everything in between.

 

It’s wrong, but he’s sad and full of whiskey and he’s tired of always doing the right thing.

 

So let’s do the wrong thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyooo there's the rest of the gang  
> and whoops \o/


	6. A thin line

Kihyun always makes sure not to drink too much around others. He's not exactly...loose lipped, but it never hurts to be careful. Minhyuk... doesn't share those same concerns. Luckily, no one believes half of the shit coming out of his mouth even when he's  _ sober _ , so even if he were to slip up no one would believe him anyway.

 

Minhyuk tires him out. He's reckless and careless when he's not at work. He drinks too much and he blurts shit out like he's got nothing to hide. Who knows what he's been telling Hyunwoo. Truthfully, he wonders if it would've been easier on his own. To do things at his own pace, without constantly having to worry about Minhyuk.

 

(But he also knows he needs Minhyuk. To ease his conscience. To share the burden. To watch his back.)

\--

Hyunwoo doesn't suspect Minhyuk until a couple months later. He gives him his phone number after their first hook-up, but Minhyuk doesn't call. Hyunwoo doesn't really notice, one way or another. Work keeps him busy, tracking the smallest leads trying to find even the slightest trail. 

 

But The Organization is good. People don't just disappear, they vanish. No hints, no clues, not a single DNA strand left behind. Bodies just up and vanish in thin air. 

 

Minhyuk shows up on his doorstep the night of the second disappearance. He doesn't remember giving him his address, but he's there all the same. Hyunwoo waits for an explanation, an excuse, anything. But Minhyuk says nothing.

 

Instead, he kisses him hard.

\--

There’s something strange about spending a normal, fun evening with friends. Kihyun half-expects the police to drop in and arrest them at any moment-- no matter how careful they are, there is always room for error. Kihyun can’t help but worry.

 

Especially with someone like Minhyuk around.

 

He sits back and imagines the look on their friends’ faces as the police read their charges and they take them away in handcuffs. Disbelief turned to shock and disgust. Would he struggle? Minhyuk sure would. He’d never pass up the chance to cause a scene. 

 

In fact, he’s making one right now. Minhyuk was just getting them another round of drinks, but when Kihyun looks over he’s yelling in the face of a rather bulky angry-looking man. It’s not Minhyuk’s safety he is worried about-- if Minhyuk gets serious he can take down a guy like that in a matter of seconds, but that is exactly the problem.

 

A guy like Minhyuk should not be able to take down a guy like that in seconds.

 

Because Minhyuk is supposed to be a  _ normal  _ guy. 

\--

He has that same look on his face as the night he met him. A desperate kind of hunger. 

His breath reeks of alcohol, but Hyunwoo slips his tongue inside of his mouth all the same. He hasn’t felt lonely, living and working all by himself in this tiny apartment for weeks on end, but when Minhyuk shows up at his door his body yearns the attention. With every touch the yearning grows, until his pants become unbearably tight and all the questions he wanted to ask are pushed down deep inside and there’s only one thing on his mind.

 

They fuck. 

\--

Kihyun gets up, closing the space between him and Minhyuk quickly-- but not  _ too  _ quickly. He is a normal guy, after all. He inserts himself between Minhyuk and the bulky angry-looking man (who, compared to Kihyun, is built like a mountain).

 

“I’m  _ so  _ sorry,” He says, doing his best to look absolutely (a)pathetic, “you’ll have to excuse my friend here, he’s very drunk.”

 

_ And very stupid.  _ He doesn’t say it.

 

“What are you doing?!” Kihyun hisses quietly at Minhyuk, who just shrugs like he doesn't have a care in the world. (He doesn’t. Or at least, he likes to pretend he doesn’t.)

 

Kihyun bows his head-- over the years he has mastered the art of groveling.

 

And so he grovels. (And he fucking  _ hates  _ it.)

 

The man calms down, and saunters off muttering something about  _ damn fags.  _

 

Kihyun balls his fists, digging his nails in the palm of his hand until he draws blood and the rising anger dies down.

 

(If they hadn’t been in a crowded bar, Kihyun would’ve smashed his brains in with a bar stool.)

\--

The same progress repeats after the third, and fourth, and fifth disappearance. 

 

Minhyuk shows up at his doorstep, without fail.

 

Minhyuk is upset, though not visibly so for the untrained eye.

 

They have sex.

 

Minhyuk leaves.

 

There’s no evidence against him. Not yet. 

 

Hyunwoo has nothing on Minhyuk, except for that nagging feeling that  _ something  _ is off. Maybe his timing is just impeccably off. Maybe he’s not the one doing the killing. Maybe it’s all a big mistake.

 

(But Hyunwoo knows it’s too naive to think like that. After all, his intuition has rarely ever been wrong.)

 

So he starts tailing him. 

\--

Kihyun closes his hands around the neck of their next target. The man struggles, and Kihyun is glad of it. It’s no fun when it’s easy.

 

He pretends it’s Minhyuk he’s choking. It’s easy, really. After all, he has imagined it countless times-- pulling the thin wire across his neck, pulling, pulling, until the blood wells over his hands and the struggling and the gurgling ends. Throwing his head back listening to the ecstasy of the silence-- fuck, that pure, amazing silence.

 

He has imagined choking him with his bare hands.

 

Chopping his head off.

 

Point-blank revolver to the face.

 

Chainsaws.

 

Oh, the fun he would have. He’d dissect him-- slowly, of course. God, he wants him to suffer. Kihyun returns his attention to the man struggling beneath his hands. His face has already turned several shades of purple, but still he kicks and claws with all his might against his restraints. Impressive. Kihyun takes a break from choking him to grab the sledgehammer he has brought along just for the occasion.

 

It’s unnecessary. The man could just as easily die with a single bullet to the head-- but where’s the fun in that? 

 

He brings the sledgehammer down on the man’s left knee. There’s a sickening tearing sound-- the sound of bones and tendons being forcefully displaced. There is blood, lots of it, too. The Organization would have to do a little more clean-up work this time. Kihyun doesn’t really care.

 

He breaks the other knee too. The kicking stops. He imagines the pain would be intense. He imagines the man would like to scream out. Luckily, he had already cut out his tongue.

 

(There’s a muffled gargling. Tears.)

 

The struggling stops. Kihyun gets bored. He swings the sledgehammer against the side of the man’s face with all his might. The man is dead on impact.

\--

Hyunwoo doesn’t discover anything useful until the morning of the sixth disappearance. He is staked out in a car not too far from their apartment. It’s 5AM-- the streets are deserted. The door opens, and Kihyun and Minhyuk appear. It’s hard to make out in the darkness, but when they pass under a streetlight it becomes apparent. They’re wearing disguises-- nothing too obvious, but slight alterations to their appearance.

 

Now, why would any normal citizen go out at 5 in the morning wearing prosthetics? Hyunwoo curses underneath his breath. The thing he had feared becomes reality.

 

Minhyuk becomes his main suspect.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello it's been a while ;w;

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO MY FRIENDS  
> perhaps I started another longfic pray with me  
> WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT TO THE END
> 
> Fic title from Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang (my baby shot me down)   
> (sshh it's originally Cher's but Nancy's version is just ooommf)


End file.
